Mirror's Supremacy
by HERBIVORE MUNCH
Summary: Sequel to No Way Out. One by one, the true color of the crests is showing: Black. Even the smallest upset could send the digidestined into chaos. Those that remain must fight this together...or they will die together Taiora, Mimato, Takari, Kenyako, hints of Jyoumi. Two OCs introduced, definitely gonna use them more. Enjoy.


**Ugh I am so sorry for the wait everyone. I'd like to blame a busy schedule, but I honestly, I'm just lazy :/ Well, it's taken me nearly eight months of snail's pace, but this piece of garbage in finally done! I only say that 'cause there are high points and low points, and the low points just feel weird to read. At least to me, maybe you'll think they're better. Anyways, its long: just over 10600 words. Hehe...sorry. Just wasn't any place to break it into two chapters.**

**This is the sequel to **_**No Way Out**_**, so you may wanna start with that first. I own nothing, except for the concept of Counter Crests, and Chip and Blake Swanson. I do not own Digimon, nor Five Finger Death Punch, although I wish I could play with them :/ **

**Anyways, enjoy!**

Mirror's Supremacy

1

Menace

"_**I've got a killers blood**_

_**Running deep inside my veins**_

_**Don't expect you to understand**_

_**I was born without a name **_

_**I see right through you**_

_**Your opinions are a fucking joke**_

_**I'll crucify you on a silver spoon**_

_**I hope you choke!**_

_**I'm finished tryna please the **_

_**World that spins around me.**_

_**This time, I'm doin' it for**_

_**Me and me alone.**_

_**I don't need anyone, don't think I ever did.**_

_**Not tryin' to be selfish.**_

_**Just doin' what i know**_

_**I'M A MENACE!"**_

_**Five FInger Death Punch**_

_**Menace**_

_**American Capitalist**_

"When one is only darkness, how does one find light?"

_It has plagued me my whole existence. Made only of evil, how can i hope for anything more? Even when i give myself for others, i end up overlooked, ignored...beaten. The gate should have stayed closed, but it did not. I should be gone, but __**I **__am not. Maybe that is the source of my problems. Maybe I was not successful in sealing the gate because I am too powerful for even myself to destroy. _

_And what was that the little ones said about...friends? It has been so long, I barely remember. What could they find in me that has eluded me for so long?_

_So long..._

_Even the digital world spat me out; my data no longer required for its function. Where I am, I know not. But what good would that information do me? I've no place to go. Theres no challenge for me. The only respectable foe I've known denied my combat. Perhaps my life is not what I've known. Perhaps I am not made solely to fight. But if not to fight, then What?_

_I've heard it once, but how does one find this..._

_Peace?_

-/-

'This is it.' he thought, straightening his tie. 'I can't believe I'm gonna do this.' He checked his hair in the hall mirror and went out to his car.

'This is it.' she thought, putting the last of her eyeliner on. 'I can't believe I'm gonna do this.' She checked her hair one last time and went down to the parking lot.

He pulled into the lot of the building he knew so well. Seconds after he parked, the passenger door opened and the most beautiful women he ever saw climbed in. He had to almost catch his jaw before it hit the floor. She closed the door and blushed slightly.

"Hi." she said, shyly looking down.

"HI." he replied with the same, half whisper, ad he lit the engine and started off. They sat in silence as he drove.

'God, I love her.' he thought.

'God, I love him.' she thought.

'But did we do the right thing?'

They drove on in peaceful silence, awkwardly basking in their secret. But the basking soon ceased, leaving the silence simply awkward. Soon, they both couldn't handle it.

"Sora?"

"Tai?"

They spoke at the same time, stalling them both. She giggled slightly. "You go first."

"Sure." he smiled softly. "You look beautiful, Sora." She could see his cheeks enflame at the words, and hers did too.

"Tai, thank you. For everything."

He smiled and forcibly removed his eyes from the angel sitting next to him to the road ahead.

-/-

"Great. You're here." Izzy opened the door, greeting the only remaining digidestined. "Were all waiting."

"You know it takes Tai hours to fix his hair." Sora scoffed.

"Well, nevermind. We have to go. Everyone's waiting for us." Izzy opened his laptop and grabbed his digivice. Within seconds, the three of them were home.

_This concept is so...alien to me. How ironic that as an alien myself, I can not realize a concept just as alien. This life taunts me._

_I can never find it out here, despited the empty and calm. No, I need to speak with those who know its meaning. Those who live it. Those who taught me of it. It shall not be hard; this material is lighter than the air I used to breath. I could be upon that planet in no time. _

_But how will I know where?_

They touched down in an open field. In any direction, grass and flowers could be seen out to the horizon. In the center of this field was a lake with a small forest on the side. Just outside the forest was a glowing orb. In the dark night, this orb was their beacon.

"Sorry about the distance." Izzy said, straightening his shirt. "I can usually land us within a hundred yards, but today I was kinda rushed."

Tai looked at Sora.

"Don't look at me!" she gasped. "I didn't spend thirty minutes styling my hair. I was ready on time." He laughed and they started on their way. Within a few minutes, they had reached their destination. Tai and Sora were stunned at how beautiful the party was.

Pires of stone held up the corners of the party center and between each tower were lines of string from which candlelit lamps hung, crossing the square where tables and a floor were set up. It seemed almost too large for the small number there. Izzy had set up a sound system playing music for them all to enjoy. He wanted Matt's band to play, but Matt wanted the night off. They agreed that Teenage Wolves would come anyways, incase Matt changed his mind. Food was not a scarce substance as it had been before in the digital world. With some convincing from Mim and Yolei, Digitamamon agreed to cater for them. Every couple was excited.

And they were as follows:

Tai and Sora, obviously. After their problems with Matt, they had grown only closer.(A/N strongly recommend you read my other stories first. Otherwise, you'll probably get lost.)

Matt and Mimi, enjoying the speedy and light relationship they had.

TK and Kari, to no ones surprise.

Davis and Brandi, a girl who everyone thought was just a little too "loose" for Davis, who was obviously covering for the fact that Kari had gone with someone else.

Joe alone and with no explination.

Izzy and self, being too sensitive to "just pick someone."

Ken and Yolei, to no ones surprise.

Cody and his mother, which bothered some at first, but Cody assured them that he had a camping trip with his grandfather tomorrow and that they wouldn't stay long. It was always hard being the youngest digidestined, but he was happy that his mother finally got to see the digital world.

Every member of Matt's band brought a date of their own, except for their guitarist. An American, the young prodigy stunned them with his skill and easily replaced their original guitarist, Musso Chibi, who split after the disastrous christmas show, saying that he could "deal with screaming fans, but not with angry dinosaurs". The others understood, but it didn't make Matt's life any easier. He couldn't have a rock band without a guitarist. It was only luck that Matt ran into Chip Swanson outside an LA studio. He overheard Matt complaining to Tai over the phone about needing a guitarist, and having been working on learning Japanese for unseen circumstances, volunteered his services. Not seeing any possible negative, Matt took him in and instantly loved him. As a musician, that is. Chip by far proved himself capable to handle their music. Chibi's solos were rudimentary at best, but Swanson could start a fire with his fingers. He had brought the band together and to new heights. Despite his talent, he was still new to Japan, thus disabling himself from the dating game. But the digital world leveled these fields, allowing him to open to the other digidestined.

Chip wasn't alone in this faraway land, though. Chip, the same age as Matt and Tai, had a younger brother, the same aged as TK and Kari. Blake, unlike Chip didn't speak a word of Japanese. Chip was slowly teaching him what little he knew, but outside of the digital world, communication was a bit of an issue. They were lucky that most of the digidestined spoke english.

The group greatly enjoyed the dancing and snacking. But after awhile, Chip grew restless.

"What's wrong, Chip?" Mimi asked, noticing his uneasy look. All the girls, whether they would admit it or not, we're head over heals in love with him, and reasonably so. Standing at a strong six-foot-three with a respectable frame and nearly no body fat, Chip was the picture of strength and durability. Even in the States, his size was above average. But since Joe, being the tallest of them, stood only at five-eleven, they saw him, in the most respectful way, as a monster. The band had seen him work, proving that he wasn't just big, but strong as well. He would carry two hundred pound speakers on his shoulders with ease. All the digidestined were fit, but no one was even close to Chip's power. But what surprised them most was that Chip had a very sound and well used mind. His songs were complicated, but retained a simplistic beauty to them that held it's audience captive. He could also spend hours talking physics and philosophy with Ken and Izzy. Although not many of the digidestined talked to him, they somehow understood that he could always help them. All in all, the others excepted him and his brother as their own.

"Oh," he sighed. "This is probably the longest I've gone without playing."

"Well, this party _is_ getting pretty lame." Matt said, joining them. "Why don't we solve both our problems?" Chip smiled, nodded, and unlocked his case.

Besides his amazing playing ability, he was actually an awesome composer. Once through his metal shell, he would write numerous beautiful pieces, all addressed to a girl he knew in America. He rarely talked about her; in fact he never brought her up. It was only through Blake's insight that they even knew of her existence. They were careful not to bring the subject up around him.

_I believe that's the rift there. I must prepare for our encounter. I cannot guarantee my quest for peace will be peaceful. Irony is cold._

_I suppose it is wrong to skip over the digital world without searching it first. They may be there already. Besides, I so hate the human world. I would rather discover my meaning in a place with meaning, not in that hell hole in which they live. _

Matt gathered the rest of the band away from their dates and prepped them for the show. Tai stood and watched them as they tuned and checked sound. Over the course of the night, he reluctantly detached himself from the rest of the group. Not very noticeably, not enough to raise alarms, but just enough for Sora to notice. When someone would do something that would cause everyone to fall over laughing, he'd just chuckle. Small things like that made her wonder what was happening in that big head of hair of his.

Like now. As the band set up to play and the others gathered 'round, Tai stood off at the edge of the clearing with his arms crossed and his mind lost. Sora noticed and joined him, putting her hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly at the touch.

"Hey." she said. "Lets go for a walk."

He nodded and linked up with her arm as they headed out towards the forest.

-/-

Chip was standing on stage, tuning his Les Paul to a standard, open E. He didn't fear playing. He loved it. Almost as much as he loved...her. His reminiscing was cut short by the random and sudden appearance of Ken in front of the stage.

"Uh, hey Ken." he said jumping back to reality. "What can I do for you?"

"I hear you play pretty well." Ken had never actually seen Chip play before, but everyone had said he was really good and he just had to see for himself.

"It's been said" Chip said with a chuckle, popping the cap and taking a swig from his water bottle.

""Would you mind showing me something?"

"Um, course." He decided on the solo from their big hit, _I turn around. _It was simple enough for the virtuoso; only having simple bends and small, rhythmical runs. It tended to please a crowd better than his some of his more difficult pieces, but Ken remained unamused.

"Mind if I...?"

"Knock yourself out." Chip said, handing ken the axe. Ken went right to work, playing back the same exactly solo for Chip. And as the metaphorical blood was drying, followed up with the solo from AC/DC's _Highway To Hell, _a solo similar in technique and difficulty. Chip saw the genius's intention, and cracked his knuckles with a smirk. He held up his finger, grabbed his other guitar, a custom Ibanez S420, plugged in and looked down at Ken.

"This ought to be fun."

-/-

A twig snapped behind them, causing Sora to cling tighter to Tai's arm. His heart jumped in speed at the sudden contact. He squeezed back to reassure her of his presence. Neither of them was afraid of the dak, nor the woods, but being in the moments they had, in the dark and alone, they were already jumpy, adrenaline pumping.(Lemme just step right in. If you have not read my first story, No Way Out, I highly encourage you do now, for the key reason that there will be things you will miss if you don't. For example, why Tai and Sora alone in the dark makes them jumpy. And no, nothing like that, gutter brain. You won't miss much plot, but there will be jokes and references that you will not get. Sorry, I will try not to make this a habit, but this is my story, so I might anyway.) They pressed on, safe with the knowledge that their other was there. Their true partners had stayed back. The instrumental showdown between Ken and Chip and the prospect of food was too enticing for them to ignore. So they walked alone, through the woods and the night. Happy just to be alone.

Soon, they broke the woodline and were presented with an astonishing sight: A lake, a mirror, still as the night itself, with the image of a digital moon above and below them. The inverted sunlight from the moon and the water illuminated the scene surprisingly well, giving them a private paradise. They stood in awed silence at the beauty before them. Sora glanced over at Tai and was drawn to his eyes. Like the lake, the light of the moon shone out of them, illuminating a tense sadness within them. It stung to see him distracted.

"What's wrong?" she asked, taking both his hands in her own, turning his gaze to her. He sighed, staring into her ruby eyes.

"I can't remember." he smiled. She knew he was lying, but she let it go. Instead of pushing the point, she pulled him in closer, wrapping her arms around his back and laying her head on his chest. The music from the party drifted to them and they started to sway as the slow beat entered their ears. At this point, Tai truly did forget about his problems.

-/-

Matt was stunned. Everyone was stunned. They knew Chip was good, but this display brought him higher than their highest ideas, and they all knew Ken was amazing at everything he did, but again, he smashed their expectations to pieces.

Song after song, they went. What one would do, the other would match perfectly, building onto the next level of playing. On and on. _Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Clapton, Zeppelin, Skynyrd, Hendrix, Triumph, Quiet Riot, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Avenged Sevenfold, Battle Beast, Hammerfall, Megadeth, Dream Theater, _and finally landing on the biggest songs they knew. It was Ken's turn, and he decided to end it, breaking out the most difficult things he knew in _DragonForce_'s _Through the Fire and the Flames._ Everyone's jaws dropped, but Chip didn't even blink. He smiled as Ken stood there, out of breath and confident that he had the last laugh. But Chip wasn't done. He took his place, and one-upped Ken, starting the solo from _Fury of the Storm, _by the same (**A/N **I play guitar, and believe me when I say this stuff is impressive XD but I will admit its pretty cheesy).Ken laughed as Chip shredded, hopping up on stage and shaking his hand. Ken knew that was all he could do.

"You, sir," Chip said to Ken, "You are _very _good."

"You're not so bad yourself."

Shortly after, Matt apologized to Ken for never inviting him to play sooner. Ken laughed and happily agreed to join the _Teenage Wolves_. The rest of the band as well as cody and Davis' date all decided to butt out shortly after the duel. It was late and they frankly were feeling uncomfortable. Cody had to be there for his grandfather tomorrow and followed them with Armadillomon and his mother; Brandi just didn't like Davis that much. Tai and Sora found their way back to the party feeling much better about themselves and were happy to see everyone getting along so well. Tai couldn't remember the last time they all looked this happy. He only wished he could be happy _with_ them...

-/-

_...one year ago..._

_ Tai and Matt step off the Trailmon and onto the forest platform. A little pink ball is waiting for them. _

_ "Hello there," Piximon says. "It's wonderful to see you again. Genai tells me you have a problem you need help with." _

_ They nod, and he smiles. "Then lets get started." _

_ They follow him to his dojo, where they sit in his study and tell him their story. _

_ "Yes, Genai mentioned something about counter-crests when we spoke." he said when they had finished. "I believe you are right for coming here. We can't risk anymore uncontrollable digidestined." He stood up,walked to the door and opened it. He turned to face them. "Let's begin."_

In t_he next digital weeks_,they do _a combination of housework and physical training. Off and on, Matt and Tai spar with each other, while Agumon and Gabumon the same. Piximon repeatedly tests their patience by making fun of them; their hair, their lifestyle, their families. But he does not get much reaction from either of them. Until he brings up Sora._

_ They are both still sore at each other from the happenings not two weeks ago, when they first discovered these powers. Matt had never fully given up on Sora, even though he was with Mimi now. He attributed _i_t_ t_o her crest's power. She would forever hold control over his heart. Tai, on the other hand, has always loved Sora, and has made that point clear to Matt many times before. He was crushed to see his best friend go behind his back with the girl of his dreams. They had fought it out with power the digital world had scarcely known_, a_nd it is _because of _these powers that they _are _here, training with Piximon,_ _cleaning his home twice a day. _

_ At the mention of her name, they both tense up. The dark clouds fly and the intensity of the combat increases into a real fight. Agumon and Gabumon start to grow, and in attempt to save his home, Piximon flies over head and knocks them both unconscious._

_ When they come to, he speaks with them._

_ "It seems that I have found your trigger. You both have great feelings for Sora." He smiles evily. "I can work with that."_

_ This moment on, every day they train. They grow not only as digidestined, but as people. _

_ Tai finds that his love for Sora is the cause of his dark power, and that true courage must have the power to push through love. He does not understand how fury is the opposite of courage, however, and _ must_ explain to him_.

_ "True courage, as you know, is not just about facing your fears and leading the others. No, courage is really about mind over matter. Ignoring your fears is plain foolish and will hurt you in the end. Likewise, hiding from them will inhibit you to complete tasks. It is a delicate balance that only the truly courageous can find. You must have control over your fears while still respecting them. This is the fundamental concept of courage: complete control over your emotions. This is why fury is the inverse of courage. Fury is the complete loss of emotional control. Where composure once stood, blind rage and instinct takes over. No longer is the same man present. He is transformed into an unrelenting rage monster, hell bent on destruction and chaos." He smirks._

_ "A menace to all." _

_ Tai is afraid. Not for himself, but for the ones he loves. Even the ones he isn't sure about. "How can I stop it?" he asks. _

_ Piximon smiles. "That's what we're here to find out." _

_Tai focuses for days on end. He pushes himself and Agumon the very extremes of their bond. His mind strengthens, but at a price. He no longer feels like a human. Concepts blur together. He becomes hard and callous. He's the same boy, the same fighter, but with a sense of containment and strength that he has never felt before. He feels as if, however, he must separate himself from the other to keep them safe from the demons inside. This is not the case, _but _he feels this way anyways, _

_Finally, he finds a foothold. Sparing with Matt, he blacks out. When he wakes, he is surrounded by darkness and mist. He somehow can tell that he is within his own mind. He is not surprised by the vacancy. _

_Agumon Counter-warp Digivolves, but not into Black SkullGreymon..._

_This new form is black...almost evil. Red eyes shine out of a jagged mass of shadow. It is power, yet it is nothing. It exists where there is emptiness, nothingness. It exists in the mind and heart of those who are hurt, enraged. _

_It's power is almost unchallenged. It lives only to burn for the angered, the injured, the pained..._

_The mighty Furemon..._

-/-

_That light..._

_It is not natural to the digital world. It must be them..._

_It must._

Suddenly, the digimon all looked up. They were noticeably terrified, and rightfully so. A dark, yet familiar shadow quickly flew over head.

"Tai!" Agumon cried as all the others called to their partners. He looked and saw the form circling over head.

"No..." he whispered, quickly snapping into action. "Everybody move!" He wasn't the first, however to react. Little Biyomon had seen the form and tried to fly up to fight it. Sora was faster, though and chased after the bird, grabbing her and pulling her in close.

"No, B."

"But Sora-" She was cut off by a landing right in front of them. The large form of BlackWarGreymon stood not five feet from them, menacingly.

"You." He said to Sora, but before he could continue, something flew at him. Rather, someone. Tai had gone dark the second BlackWarGreymon had approached Sora and was now being propelled up at the level of the Mega's eyes, left fist back ready to strike.

BlackWarGreymon could have sworn he saw the boy wink at him as he approached. It was happening too fast for the dark one to care to move; this was a decision he would regret as his mass was thrown sideways by the force of the punch as it struck the side of his face. He flew into the forest and brought down a tree as he hit the ground hard, wind and composure knocked out of him. He quickly tried to regain his footing, but the heel of Tai's foot met his helmet, driving him further into the ground, making a crater about six feet deep. Everyone hurried over in shock and awe at the power Tai was displaying. Everyone but Chip that is. They huddled around the hole watching as Tai landed punch after devastating punch to the dragon's head. And to everyone's utter surprise, Tai was actually hurting BlackWarGreymon. The mega's head flew back and forth with each hit and his metal head started to show signs of denting. Suddenly, BlackWarGreymon's eyes shut as the concussion was proving too great for him.

Chip saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned as Blake nudged his shoulder, holding his fist to his chest. Chip nodded and jumped into the pit to break it up, rather excited that this might turn out to be what Blake had been looking for for so long.

"Chip, what do you think you're doing?!" Matt called after him, but he ignored him as he grabbed Tai's drawn arm by the elbow and threw him off the dragon.

"This is a brutal attack." he said, turning. "Besides," he smiled evilly. "You're not even giving him a chance to fight back."

"Because we can't afford to." TK spoke up, moving in front of Kari to discreetly protect her. Everyone noticed however, especially Blake and Davis, who both remained silent. "This monster has proved himself too evil to get a chance."

"That doesn't matter to me. But that's not the real reason I stopped him." He looked up at Blake and motioned with a nod. All eyes turned to the kid and the fist by his chest, a small amount of light seeping through the clasped fingers. "This is the first time his crest has ever activated." Chip continued, drawing a gasp from the crowd.

"You mean you guys are..." Yolei started.

"Digidestined." Ken concluded, surmising for himself.

Chip nodded. "Yep." He turned to the woods and called out: "Come on out." A short, humanoid digimon walked out, roughly as tall as Chip's waist. It marched over to the crater and hopped in, landing gracefully. He carried a pitchfork in one hand and had a Wizardmon-like bandana wrapped around his neck. His clothes were rather tattered and he looked dirty, but he had the brightest blue eyes and purest yellow hair imaginable. It was so yellow in fact that it was reminiscent of straw.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my best friend, Militamon." The little digimon smiled and nodded at the group. Chip reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin neck chain with a tag hanging from it. He held it up at the level of his eye and it glowed a faint golden color. The crest was one that they had never seen before; it was a series of triangles all linked together in a larger triangle, looking almost like an inverted hazard sign.

"What crest is that?" Davis asked.

"This, my friends," he said with a smile, "is the crest of Loyalty." His eye twinkled as he spoke the word. "My pride and joy..." For some reason, this phrase brought him slight pain, but as quickly as it came, it had passed.

"What about him?" Matt asked, looking at Blake.

"I speak, you know." Blake said quietly. Too quiet for really anyone to hear, so Chip answered for him. Kari noticed, however, and felt sad for him.

"Peace. He hasn't found his partner yet."

BlackWarGreymon started to regain his thoughts and he sat up with a groan. He knew who this boy was, 'But how did he get so powerful?' he thought. 'He isn't more powerful than me, but he is no mere human anymore. If I needed to kill him, I could, but what good would it do? I would only end up fighting all of them and inevitably be beaten by something greater, forced to start my search over again...I cannot go back to that emptiness, that nothing. There must be a better way, a better-'

His thoughts were again interrupted as Yolei screamed to Chip. "Watch out Chip, he's getting up!"

"Gabumon!" Matt called. All of the other digidestined, except for Tai grabbed their digivices too. Everyone digivolved as quick and to as high of a level as they could.

"Gabumon, Warp digivolve to...MetalGarurumon!"

"Biyomon, Warp digivolve to...Albatramaromon!" (A/N read No Way Out Chapter 4)

"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquilamon!"

"Gatomon...Aquilamon...DNA digivolve to...Silphymon!"

"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon, digivolve to...MagnaAngemon!"

"Palmon, digivolve to...Lilymon!"

"Gomamon, digivolve to...Zudomon!"

"Tentomon, digivolve to...MegaKabuterimon!"

"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"

"Veemon, digivolve to...ExVeemon!"

"ExVeemon...Stingmon...DNA digivolve to...Paildramon!"

"Paildramon, digivolve to...Imperialdramon!...mode change to...Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"

They all stood ready, but to everyone's surprise, Chip stood in the way. He put himself right infront and held his arms out to the side to stop restrict any attacks.

Matt showed the most surprise. "Are you really defending him?!"

Chip shrugged. "He hasn't done anything that I would consider wrong." He dropped his arms. "If anyone's in the wrong, it's this guy." He said, pointing to Tai. Tai was lying up against the side of the crater, not moving but not unconscious. "He's the real menace here."

"Yeah, but we know Tai. He wouldn't hurt us." TK said. "Now move so we can end this."

Chip squinted. "No."

Matt had had enough of this. "I'm not gonna sit here and watch our only chance to kill this thing once and for all pass because of one stubborn moron. Take them both out, MetalGarurumon!" The wolf snarled and jumped into the pit, charging Chip.

But Chip didn't move.

As MetalGarurumon got closer, a light shone out of Chip's pocket. MetalGarurumon stopped not three feet from Chip's face as a hand grabbed the back of the wolf's neck, stopping him dead and holding him just above the ground. All eyes went to this new form who had so easily stopped the attack.

He was tall in comparison to a human, standing about seven feet tall. He had broad shoulders and every inch of him was covered in olive green plating. The armor was not metal exactly; more of a plastic metal hybrid. It covered every solid muscle group while a black cloth covered the joints. He wore a helmet of similar, olive material with a solid gold visor surrounded by the plating. It gave him a slightly menacing look, but he somehow still had a friendly quality to his presence. He easily held MetalGarurumon off the ground with his right hand on the wolf's neck and the other on his tail.

He then smoothly swung his arms back and flung MetalGarurumon out of the pit and onto the ground next to the group. MetalGarurumon grunted as he landed, the wind knocked out of him.

"I don't want to fight you. Any of you." Chip said sadly. "But Holomon will protect me, my brother, and whatever we stand for. So please don't force us to do anything stupid."

Just then, Tai stood up. All eyes went to him as he stumbled and struggled to get his footing. When it finally looked like he was stable, he lifted his head and roared and unholy roar, shaking the ground with its power. It ruffled Chip's hair as it hit him, but he didn't flinch. Suddenly, Tai's crest shot a black beam out and into the air. Agumon roared too and started to grow, absorbing the black power from the crest and changing his form.

"What's happening?" Chip asked calmly.

"Something very, very bad." Kari whispered seconds before it hit the fan.

Tai and Agumon both exploded in a cloud of darkness, blasting everyone back and onto the ground. Chip, Holomon and BlackWarGreymon were blown out of the crater and into a pile by the trees as the two clouds merged and expanded into the sky. The other digidestined quickly turned and ran off to a safer distance as the two red spots appeared in the cloud. Chip lifted his head off the ground and quickly pushed himself up, taking a good time to make sure that he understood the scene before he jumped in. Holomon too got to his feet.

"What's the plan?"

Chip remained silent and Holomon waited patiently.

BlackWarGreymon, who had landed on his back, lifted his head up and looked at the others. Chip was standing in front of him, almost guarding him. This struck him as odd. 'Why does he defend me? All the others attack me while having nothing more than reasonable suspicion, yet he trusts me? It is not a logical move. Even _I_ recognize this. I do not fault them with assaulting me; in fact, I would do the same in their shoes. Given my history with them, their actions are of no surprise. Except for this one. This...Chip I believe his name was. I have never seen him before in my life and he treats me as if we were brothers: with no malice or prejudice. I suppose that he is proof that the little Agumon was correct: I can have friends anywhere...' (A/N cheesy I know, but deal with it XD)

The methods in which they escaped varied between the individuals as well as the generations. For example: Davis simply ran. Ken, on the other hand, ran covering Yolei, for obvious reasons. Matt took this opportunity, the opportunist he was, to help his new love, Mimi. It had been fast and rushed, but he was rather certain that he did love her. She was a lot like Sora, while still different. They were each a drink: Sora was a smooth, silky milkshake while Mimi was more like a sweet cider. Sora was warm and loving in everything she did, but Mimi was vibrant and fun. Not to say the other was completely the opposite, more that they specialized in that certain area. Sora was fun, but Mimi was more. Mimi was tender, but Sora was more. It was a trade off, and while he still hurt for losing Sora, he did truly believe himself in love with the pink princess. She hated when he called her that, but that was how he was. He teased her for her obsession with the color and she teased him about many, many embarrassing things. As much as he loved Sora and would always miss her, Mimi seemed to do a very, very good job distracting him from his thoughts and from the part of his heart that he had cut out of him. The same was for TK, but his heroism was beaten to the punch by a very unlikely party.

As they turned to run, Kari's hand was held by TK. He never wanted to let her go, so it was together that they ran. Kari, however, did not see where she was running. Her sight was drawn to the face of her savior, _her_ guardian angel, as they started, causing her to trip of a small clump of dirt. Gravity took a deadly hold and down she went. TK's hand was forced out of her's as his momentum drove them apart, and he desperately tried to cut back, but his effort was interrupted by the effort of Tai's id. Still not quite solid, the form's hand came crashing down on the sprawled Kari. TK dove to reach her but fell short. When he lifted his head, he couldn't believe his eyes.

There lying on top of Kari, right under the now solid hand of the monster, covering her from harm, was Blake. But what surprised him more was the figure that held the hand off of them. Crouched over the two children will all hell on his back was BlackWarGreymon. TK's jaw dropped as the dark dragon struggled with the weight. Was this really happening?

Blake lifted his head and looked back at BlackWarGreymon, surprised as well at the supposed monster's generosity. BlackWarGreymon returned the stare. "Run!" he managed through gritted teeth. Blake turned and looked at Kari, who shared the surprise, then he propelled himself to his feet and pulled her off the ground, following BlackWarGreymon's command. TK had started running back towards them, ignoring the shock of the BlackWarGreymon's act, just desperate to save his beloved. But Blake had beaten him to the punch, and he didn't stop just with the immediate act of picking her off the ground. He carried her in his arms as he ran to catch up with the others. TK and Kari didn't have time to gawk at the surprise strength Blake was showing. Kari wasn't big, but she was about their height, and to run full speed with someone of near equal mass in one's arms was not the easiest of tasks, but Blake seemed to deal with it with ease. When they finally reached the group and he set her down, he made no sounds of fatigue. His breath was silent as his mouth was closed and he didn't double over like the rest to catch his breath. Rather, the first noise he made was to Kari.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, leaning down to the level of her ear as she caught her breath from the ordeal. She lifted her head and turned to look at him, leaving only a small gap between their faces. She froze, stunned by the proximity. She didn't know what to think right now...she swallowed and nodded. He smiled and helped her stand. TK and Davis both quickly came running over to take her away from this stranger and comfort her. How could they let this new suiter come over and take their love away from them? As they pulled her away, she looked back at Blake and mouth the words "Thank you." He nodded and turned to see what was happening.

-/-

Chip and Holomon watched as BlackWarGreymon rushed to save his brother and his new crush. Chip read Holomon's mind and answered him before he could even ask.

"Give it a minute. I think the fight may change."

Holomon nodded and they watched the giant cloud start to solidify and condense into a slightly-larger-than-human form. Furemon was a mega of ridiculous power and reasonably distracting size. Standing at slightly over 8 feet tall, he was a demon straight from hell. With an alien face and piercing red eyes on an all black, ghastly body, it was as if he perspired fear. The mood of the entire field changed as he locked in his size and fixed his sights on the only other monster there: BlackWarGreymon.

Having regained his footing, the other powerful mega turned to challenge the newcomer. He ignored the fear struck to his heart and met Furemon's charge with his own.

He was far outmatched and did not hold well. Quite quickly, he was thrown down to the ground from the monster's sheer power, a feat that quickly discouraged him. 'I cannot defeat this beast. This proves that there are things I am incapable of slaying, and peace is the only logical option for me. How ironic that this realization only finds me now...'

Furemon stepped overtop of BlackWarGreymon and prepared the killing blow. BlackWarGreymon was no coward and looked his death in the glowing red eyes as the end neared.

But it never came.

Chip whispered to Holomon and he shot off at the demon, removing him from BlackWarGreymon's chest, dragging him into the air, away from the others. The speed of the attack was very surprising and very effective, as BlackWarGreymon was now free to fight again.

Holomon pulled Furemon right up into the air, now hundreds of yards away from the collateral of children and others. Furemon fought back violently and eventually worked out of Holomon's grip. Once free, he let out a barrage of darkness on the soldier, which did much more to hurt him than he had anticipated. This monster was powerful.

But so was he.

Holomon let out a volley of punches and kicks at the dark monster, who bellowed at the force, but held his ground, blocking most, but failing as some snuck through, catching him in the core and head. Holomon moved with grace and skill, flawlessly dancing around the demon, peppering relatively powerless hits, trying to find a pattern to the monster's defense. But Furemon was not amused, unleashing a burst of shadow in all directions that sent Holomon tumbling down to the earth with a rather gruff landing. Holomon grunted as he got to his feet, but was thrown back to the ground as Furemon landed on top of him. A black hand came down and covered Holomon's face. The soldier reached up and tried to pull it off, but Furemon didn't budge. He screamed a deathly scream and started pumping pure pain into Holomon's body. Black ripples flowed through Furemon's arm as the scream's pitch went higher. Through the scream, a ghastly whisper pushed through.

"Silent Genocide!" He hissed, dragging life out and slowly replacing it with pain. Holomon was strong, but the induction of direct evil into his being made him roar with the pain. Furemon leaned in closer a the attack intensified, the scream growing louder and louder until no one was able to stand the aural assault destroying them. All the humans covered their ears in pain, except for Tai and Chip. All the digimon were on their way to help the losing Holomon. Despite this obvious failure of his partner, Chip didn't seem to show worry nor emotion.

But time was running out for Holomon. Chip's arrogance, while flattering to Holomon, was not in the right place. Many other foes had been defeated by the warrior, but none at the level of Furemon. The soldier acted strong and durable, which he was, but he knew he didn't have a prayer alone. He held desperately onto the monster's arm as his life was slowly being drained.

And it was nearly gone.

-/-

Sora hated this. Well, they all hated it, but this wasn't the same for her as it was for everyone else. Tai had done this for her; It was her fault. Again. Her presence had put all the others in danger, and now Chip's partner was about to die.

She had to fix it.

Albatramaromon felt the same and launched over to help Holomon as Sora ran to Tai. MetalGarurumon did the same, as well as most of the other digimon. The other digidestined, were too far away to help Tai. Sora hadn't run away when the others did. She was much closer to her love and hustled over without the help of her friends. Matt noticed and called for her, but she didn't hear.

"She's gonna get herself killed." He grumbled, turning to gather the others to help.

She moved as quick as the rough winds and digital disruption would allow her, which was not all that fast, but simply could not get close enough to reach Tai. She called out to him, but Tai wasn't there to answer. He had told her before of what had happened to him when he turned dark the last time: how he was trapped inside, watching in pain as the inner rage ruins all he loves. It made him sick, but all his disgust did was make him stronger. None of this stopped her from trying though. She loved him too much.

She struggled through the torrent, closer and closer. 'Almost there...' she thought, not 10 feet from his body. 'Almost...'

-/-

If Holomon's life were to be measured by miles of rope, he had but inches left. Furemon looked at him with almost a questioning stare as he prepared to finish the soldier off. Holomon closed his eyes as all his power was being used to keep his mind alive. With all his bravery, he was noticing that certain death did make him fear, and he closed his eyes out of fear of the end as well. With his free fist in the air, the monster let the final strike fall...

But it never arrived.

Holomon opened his eyes to see the cause of the delay and honestly found himself surprised, for standing overtop of him with Furemon held above his head was BlackWarGreymon. Holomon was not one to gawk however, and quickly got to his feet. The shadow in his hand evaporated, making BlackWarGreymon awkwardly stumble, looking around for his foe. Holomon joined him in his ocular search by turning the other way to look. Albatramaromon landed hard next to them and addressed Holomon and inquired as to his condition, but he was preoccupied.

"Where are you going..." he mumbled to himself as he caught sight of a trail of smoke streaking across the field.

And he didn't like to whom it lead.

-/-

The wind was enough to force her to the ground, lest the gale blow her away. She put her one hand above the other, slowly dragging herself through the storm to her love. She couldn't let him face this alone. Not again. She was so close; just five feet left. Soon she would be with him and all this would be over. The wind picked up in speed and a clump of dirt lifted up and flew towards her face. She Quickly put her head to the ground and covered it with her arms as the loam was thrown far overhead. She lifted her head, relieved at her escape, but the feeling quickly flead as she saw what had appeared in between her and Tai. A ghastly black foot blocked her path.

Slowly, her vision moved up as she followed the leg to it's source. A tall, thin body of black stood, bent over and pushing its bug-like eyes in her direction with a slight tilt to it's head. Furemon wasn't too keen on the idea of being removed from the world by Sora. Tai's rage would do its best to preserve itself.

Suddenly, all the strength left her as the monster raised its voice in a blood-curdling screech that penetrated right down to her deepest fears and left her in full and complete terror. She closed her eyes as the beast was too much to look at. Just as she had given up, however, a body slammed into her from the right side, throwing her to the ground and sealing her in a temporarily safe space. She opened her eyes and saw a broad arm pressing into the ground holding up the frame of the one who brought her to the ground. He wasn't looking, however, as he was focused on his partner in green who flew into view quickly and side tackled Furemon in the same way that Chip had tackled Sora. Before she could comment or even thank him, he was on his feet, struggling through the wind to lift her up.

"You can calm him down?" he yelled as he managed to get her into his arms. They both knew that it Sora wasn't able to stand, let alone walk in this wind. She nodded and he started to trudge the rest of the way to Tai, slowly putting one foot in front of the other.

-/-

Once again, after the initial contact, Furemon got the best of Holomon and prepared to end it much quicker this time. With his fist back, he let out a snarl at the pinned soldier. But yet again, the hit never came.

A blue-pointed, purple spiral collided with the monster's chest and yet again sent it flying away, this time like it was hit by a truck. His body landed with a bounce and was immediately pinned by MetalGarurumon. ImperialDramon can over very quickly and followed up with another Positron Laser to the face of Furemon as MetalGarurumon dug into his core with his teeth. Furemon flailed his head and screamed, but fought back by throwing off MetalGarurumon and flipping a kick up and into the giant ImperialDramon's face. MetalGarurumon returned to his feet with a growl and ImperialDramon stumbled back, but both quickly attacked again. Soon, Holomon caught up and joined, as well as Albatramaromon, MagnaAngemon and Silphymon. They formed a loose circle around the monster and alternated their fire on the unfortunate center of the circle.

"Fist of the Free!" cried Holomon as he launched a series of punches which turned into fireballs in the air and splashed onto Furemon like napalm, both burning and blinding the demon.

Around they went, peppering Furemon with more and more fire, slowly bringing him to his knees. He screamed with pain, but didn't seem to be affecting him on an injuring level. They closed in, pushing him further down, until he exploded in a cloud of darkness, sending all the others flying back and away. He stretched up and into the sky with a tremendous roar, drawing the terrified eyes of everyone.

The humans finally arrived to this tremendous scene and struggled to force themselves through the storm to help their partners who now had joined in the attack. For the most part, they stood in a line with no specific order, but an order at that. Davis was on the far left, flanked by Kari and TK, who were flanked by Matt and Mimi, then Joe, Izzy, Ken and Yolei. Blake brought up the back, not really looking for a place in the line and being quite content to sit out. Furemon flailed out in protest of the newcomers, sending a tendril shooting down a the center of the line, above TK, Matt and Mimi.

TK turned quickly to cover Kari, but Davis had already grabbed her and pulled her out of the way, leaving TK at risk and Matt in a very uncomfortable position. Without even thinking it over, Matt lunged to the left and into his brother, throwing them both away and leaving Mimi in the direct path.

Of course, she expected him to save his brother, but it didn't get him any brownie points as she now was the only one in the way. As the tendril slowly fell, she looked up and screamed, frozen in fear. Suddenly, two thin arms wrapped around her and pulled her with surprising strength to the right. The two bodies flew through the air and landed on the ground just as Furemon's new fist connected with the earth they were just standing on and sent it flying up and into the air. As they hit the dirt, Mimi' head met the shoulder of her savior and her world started to spin. Her head dropped back as she struggled to stay awake. The boy who saved her wasted no time evacuating the area as he picked her up and retreated back to let the others fight.

He set her down gently behind a boulder that had been unearthed and launched during the initial impact and gently shook her into consciousness.

"Matt?" she muttered as her eyes slowly opened. Much to her surprise, however, it was not Matt holding her.

"Shh slow down, Mimi." the doctor order in response to her urgent motion to sit up. Loud noises echoed in her head like thunder through mud, but she couldn't tell if the noise was from her bump on the head or from the battle. Never the less, she wasn't having a good time deciphering what Joe was saying. Her face must have shown such confusion as Joe gently grabbed her shoulders and worked her down onto her back.

This wasn't Matt: the one she lusted after for so long. _He_ was out saving his brother, leaving her alone and in danger. She understood, but still a single tear ran down her chin as she remembered.

Joe quickly wiped it away while smiling at her. 'Oh God, what do I do?' he thought frantically. 'She's sitting here crying! She must be in a lot of pain! You gotta help her, more than just rubbing tears off of her face...her beautiful...perfect...FOCUS! Get it together, man! You're a doctor, not a child. She still is bleeding from the back of the head and has a concussion of unknown intensity. You gotta wrap that cut up.'

He gulped and pulled out his white tie from his party attire and his handkerchief from his breast pocket and tied the makeshift bandage around her head, slowly pulling it taut and tying it in the front. "That feel better?" he asked as he lifted her and leaned her against the rock. She nodded, but her eyes stared past him. He lifted himself up to watch the battle, hoping that she would be alright when this was over.

-/-

Furemon screamed as he lashed out again to the empty ground as ImperialDramon dove out of the way. While the monster's face was impossible to read, they could tell that Furemon was getting bored and annoyed. His actions became more intense and sped to the earth with new vigor as his anger multiplied both his strength and the storm on the ground. He began to make a guttural sound from his very core and he began to compress, drawing all his power into himself.

Just as he was about to release the power he had just stored inside, his scream turned from rage as he quickly shrunk and shriveled with pain. His body twisted in a gaseous cloud and limbs contorted at painful angles from the mass as all the warriors looked around for the source of the monster's pain.

Off in the distance and at the base of the storm, Sora's hands gripped Tai's face as her lips met his. Even through the darkness and pain, her kiss brought him back into reality. Color began to fill his eyes and face as the winds slowly began to die out. He began to kiss back, letting the human side of him take over once again. Chip set her on the ground as soon as the wind was gone and she pushed even more into him. Even if he could do all this, she still loved him. And she always would.

Tai slipped into his body and into the kiss, not wanting it to stop.

Chip, rather awkwardly, covered his mouth and turned away with a cough. He lifted his eyes up and put to see what had become of Furemon. The once powerful monster was shrinking into itself, but not returning to Agumon. Chip frowned as he thought about what this meant.

The other digidestined all cheered and their partners sighed in relief, including Holomon, who had suffered the brunt of the dark digimon's rage. Like his brother, however, Blake look cautiously at the dark mass that withered before them.

"They are foolish to celebrate so quickly." a voice said behind him. He turned to see BlackWarGreymon towering over him and looking out to Furemon's body, watching it as intently as the Swansons were. Blake took a short breath, but nodded.

"Bastard's not even dead yet, and they're already dancing on his grave." he stated coldly. It was not a figure of speech, either, as some of the more optimistic digimon had already dedigivolved, leaving only Holomon, Albatramoromon, ImperialDramon, MetalGarurumon and MagnaAngemon to stand in battle ready positions as they were dancing around in celebration.

"I suggest you stand behind me." BlackWarGreymon said. Blake looked up surprised, but the dragon didn't flinch. "I can tell that you are not the one to fight. Let me protect you so that I may learn from your pacifism."

Blake was stunned, but pushed the surprise past him and focused on the problem. He was not in the most danger if the monster lashed out again, but the others wouldn't trust BlackWarGreymon to protect them. It was the best idea for him to use the dragon as a shield, so he gulped and took a step behind the massivie legs.

ImperialDramon was the closest to the monster and was quite certain that Furemon was defeated. He turned to his digivolved comrades in an expression of joy and friendship, but in the process, blocked the other digimon's view of the downed Titan. Holomon called out to him.

"ImperialDramon, we can't see him!"

"Why do you need to? He's out cold!" ImperialDramon looked over his shoulder as Holomon and the others moved past him, but Furemon was gone. At this realization, a collective sigh and cheer came from all but Holomon and MetalGarurumon, who both thought that this was too easy.

-/-

Chip stood with his back to the couple, half-heartedly watching Furemon's wriggling body. 'Something must be wrong with me' he thought. He didnt know why, but seeing Tai and Sora together like that all of the sudden made him ill. He had only known them a month or so, but he had never had this feeling before. Maybe it was just too 'cutesy' for him, but something about Sora and Tai kissing upset him. He, of course, had his own ideas, but he would not reduce himself to that low a quality. It was downright against his crest to lust after another man's women, and even thinking that was taking way too many liberties. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at them again.

Tai had fully come to and was now wrapping his arms around her body as they made out. Both their eyes were closed, but Chip could see deffinitive looks of contention on their faces. He also could feel his stomach and heart fall.

He forced his head back around and repeated in his mind: 'I am NOT in love with Sora.' But each time the montra was repeated, it was followed by: 'Even as beautiful as she is.'

His attention was now fully on the pile of darkness, or rather lack there of. In the brief moment he had taken his eyes off of it, it had disappeared, putting him on alert. He knew it wasn't over. Even though Tai was severed from it, the rage inside Furemon kept it in form.

He calmly looked around to find it without startling the others and their celebrating. Just then, he felt something blow past him and he spun to see Furemon towering five feet above Tai and Sora, who had just realized that the monster was there and gripped eachother tighter. Furemon drew it's right arm back and prepared to strike it's new anger, Sora, who had severed the connection.

Like a flash, Chip seemingly teleported in the way, with his legs spread slightly and his arms extended down and out in a protective stance. Equally as fast Holomon appeared in-between Chip and the monster in a similar pose. There was now a straight slope from the top of Furemon's head down to Sora's as Chip spoke quickly to Holomon.

"Finish this." he said in a near whisper, and Holomon nodded.

He threw up his left hand up and in a very Karate Kid way, blocked Furemon's strike. He then fell down to his right knee and lifted his right arm and closed fist out. A bright blue light began to poke out of his fist as he spoke the final command.

"Particle Insurrection."

The field was filled with a brilliant light that caused all the digidestined and chosen digimon to be temporarily blinded. When their vision returned, they saw the now unconscious body of Agumon lying a few feet from the kneeling Holomon, who picked up the dinosaur and easily set him down next to the shaken Tai.

Chip nodded at his partner in satisfaction. Holomon nodded back and returned to his rookie form and plopped down on the ground, too tired out to celebrate. After checking on Agumon, who was unharmed, but exhausted, Tai stood up and put his right arm around Sora and watched as the other digidestined hurried over to see them. Kari nearly tackled the two of them with tears in her eyes.

"Please, Tai, don't make me see you that way again." she cried into his shirt. He wrapped his other arm around her.

"I won't." He then looked Sora in the eyes. "I promise." She swallowed hard, but nodded, the strain of holding back tears making her face red and contorted. He himself felt a tear in his eye as he kissed the top of his sisters head.

Matt was next to arrive, and he gave the three their space. He stood in front of Tai, slightly out of breath, and shook his head.

"Shit man, you nearly killed us." he said with a small laugh. Tai gave him a half smile and sighed.

"Not today."

Matt then looked around frantically and swore. "Aw, shit. Where's Mimi?"

"She's...*huff*...here!" Joe panted as he caught up. Upon turning around, Matt and the others saw the skinny man carrying the dazed girl in his arms.

"Dude! What happened?!" Matt yelled as he carefully took her from Joe's arms, freeing him up to bend to his knees and catch his breath.

"She...sorta...hit her...head on...my shoulder...small cut...maybe a...concussion. We better get her looked at in the real world."

Matt nodded. "Thanks, Joe." He nodded back as he stood back up.

"You know, she was mumbling your name the whole time."

Matt smiled and set her down on the grass, looking into her tired face. "Hey baby." He pushed a piece of hair our of her face as she looked at him.

"Matt?"

"Yeah its me."

She blinked. "Thank you for saving me." He quickly looked up at Joe, who nodded to say to accept. Matt gave him a small nod of thanks back and smiled at her.

"Oh course, Baby doll. I can't live without you." He leaned down and kissed her gently. Something inside Joe refused to let him watch and he turned away, masking it with stretching his supposedly sore back.

Izzy, Ken and Yolei had been watching though and all struggled to quiet their laughter. They didnt have any trouble, however, when the giants hands landed on Izzy and Ken's shoulders. They both looked up and gulped upon seeing Chip's angered smile.

"When we get back, the three of us need to have a little sit down and talk about some rather important things." They both gulped and nodded, and Izzy slowly went back to looking at the couples.

Tai holding Sora.

Matt kissing Mimi.

TK comforting Kari.

Yolei holding Ken's hand.

And off in the distance, he could see Blake riding over on now docile BlackWarGreymon.

Izzy sighed as he knew that their battles were only just beginning. But for now, they could rest in peace.


End file.
